Isaiah 17:1 The oracle concerning Damascus. “Behold, Damascus is about to be removed from being a city and will become a fallen ruin.
Damascus is going to be wiped out. The Hebrew is interesting in the description. The grammar states it is going to be taken away and removed. One could state it will be a ruined ruin or a ruined heap!
This is the city of Damascus, Syria. This place has been a hot spot in the Middle East and in the news cycle. The country of Syria has been in Civil War since the spring of 2011. Damascus is the oldest continually inhabited city on the planet. The city’s had residents and inhabitants for over 5,000 years. There is some debate of what the meaning of the name is. In the Hebrew, according to Strong’s Concordance, it means “silent is the sackcloth weaver”. According to Wikipedia, the Damascus metropolitan area has approximately 5 million people.
Late August 2013: It has become obvious to the international community that President Assad of Syria has used chemical weapons on his people. Estimates range from 300-1,300 dead. The Syrian government has issued a warning to the United States not intervene with its military according to USA Today. The Syrian government is blaming the opposition rebels for the attack. Syria has agreed to UN inspections regarding chemical weapons.
Leaders from the United States, England, France, and Germany discussed their options over the weekend of August 24 and 25. Pressure is mounting on President Obama to act with a military response. President Obama’s red line has been crossed with the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
United States war ships have been moved into the eastern Mediterranean. British nuclear submarines and multiple war ships are reported to be in the area. Military intervention appears inevitable.
Russia put Washington on notice Sunday that it would oppose any unilateral military action in Syria. The Russian Foreign Ministry drew a parallel between reports of chemical-weapons use and Washington’s 2003 intervention in Iraq following what proved to be unfounded U.S. accusations that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s government had weapons of mass destruction (Wall Street Journal). Russia declares military intervention should not occur unless there is UN authorization. Unauthorized force would be a “blatant violation of international law”.
Iran is warning of “harsh consequences” to the United States if it acts with a military response. Iran has told the United States it is playing with fire (France24.com). Syria and Iran are warning Israel of stern consequences. Gas masks have been issued in Israel (Drudge Report).
Are these the events leading up to the Burden of Damascus? Is this prophecy about to be fulfilled? Time will tell.